Circle
by youte
Summary: When a stupid project leads to surprising discoveries... The girls and Mamoru learn some new things about their past and, more exactly, their families' past. Same universe as 'Origins' and begins a week after 'The door to a new life'.


O

**CIRCLE**

**The project**

She just knew that Mars would question her about it with her usual disapproving frown, as if Minako was just a silly child doing only irresponsible things.

Minako was not in the mood to justify each of her decisions. She was not in the mood to have to tell them that she had been a soldier, a senshi, longer than any of them and that she knew what she was doing, that she wasn't their leader just because someone had decided it in the past life. It was ridiculous enough that they never thought about it.

And so, she had been ready to call Mars to notify her that she would not be there that day, for that slumber party or whatever. Artemis had managed to convince her though. He was too cute in this cat form, she would have to be careful if she didn't want him to boss her around.

Why was she doing this again?

Ah. Yes. Friends, new life, new beginnings.

Sugao had found it marvelous, to Minako's stupefaction. But she now understood exactly _why _he had been this happy about her absence this week-end. It meant that he was alone in their flat, after all. Well, not exactly alone…

She couldn't help it, the memories made her giggle again despite her mood.

"_Minako!_" Artemis whined as he walked beside her. "Stop it!"

Her giggles turned into a laugh.

"I-I'm sorry," she apologized, but she was not sincere, and he knew it quite well.

He scowled and walked more rapidly toward Mars' bedroom's French windows. She hoped that the girls were inside because she didn't want to have to look for them around the shrine. A lot of people were still there. She had warned Mars that she wouldn't be coming before five o'clock, so they should be waiting for them. They were right on time, in spite of… things.

She burst out laughing once more, just as Mars opened the door.

Artemis scowled again, annoyed, and quickly made his way inside.

"Really, Minako!"

"Oh, come on! Hello, Mars. Here, it's for you," Minako said as she passed Mars, gave her the bag full of things they had bought for the evening, and then followed her guardian, trying valiantly to hold her laughter in. "Don't be like that! It _was _funny!"

Artemis sat down near Luna once he had said hello to everyone. The girls were looking at them with curiosity and surprise, they hadn't seen each other since their err… _return_. It was the first time they saw them outside of duty besides hospital visits before her passing and that fake show Mars and Sugao had set up, Minako realized distractingly. But she was more concentrated on her pouting best friend at the moment.

"It was ridiculous, that's what it was!" he answered testily, raising his head proudly. "Besides, he wasn't even the slightest ill at ease! He _stood up_ and – and…"

The horror of the vision didn't let him continue, and Minako laughed once more.

"Spare me the details, please!"

"_Minako!_"

"Come on, you're acting like an innocent thirteen-year-old schoolgirl!" She used all her will to stop laughing (she couldn't help the few giggles though), and shook her head. "You're an adult, act like one! It wasn't that terrible, gosh, you act like you never had –"

"MINAKO! I won't discuss _that_ with you, for Mau's sake!"

"Alright, alright! And Sugao _was_ ill at ease when he realized I was home. You're a cat, remember? He has no reason to feel awkward because you walked in on –"

"My eyes! My poor eyes!"

"You're such a drama queen," she sighed. "What the hell were you doing in his room, besides?"

"That's not the point! And since when does he do _that_?"

"I'm pretty sure it wasn't his first time," she answered, and grinned when Artemis acted all scandalized once again.

If only he could redden, he would be a tomato right then!

"You – _you_!"

"I what?" Minako asked, beginning to fear for her guardian's sanity. "I would have reacted a lot more normally than you did, that's for sure. One, I knew he wasn't alone, and if you had waited for me, I would have warned you. Two, we're adults, no need to be this shocked. Three… you should have seen your face when you came back!"

"_Mina!_"

"And stop making me laugh, it tires me out!"

"Tss. And _I _am an adult. You're just a child."

"Careful, cat. Don't forget who exactly you're talking to."

Luna cleared her throat.

"As pleasing as it is to see you two joining us and be this joyful, can we know what it's all about?"

"You don't want to know," Artemis advised her. "Really, you don't."

"And you don't want the princess to know about that."

"Oh no, you don't want that either," her guardian agreed.

Usagi was the only one of the girls who clearly hadn't understood what had happened. The other three were all looking shocked, amused and/or ill at ease.

"Oh god," Makoto sighed, "too much information."

"See?" Artemis said, glaring at Minako. "That's what happens when you talk about those things in front of impressionable and innocent youngsters."

"Me? You're one to talk! I'm not the one being –"

"Alright, enough, kids," Rei intervened with a smirk. "Enough about that."

"Yeah, _please,_" Makoto approved. "So, how was your week?"

_Here we go, _Minako thought. Calm once more, she had regained her normal impassive and serious attitude.

"As usual. You know, work, homework, teasing Artemis and –" Rei gave her the newspaper with a stern look and Minako's eyes fell onto the headline "stopping crime as Sailor V," she finished without missing a heartbeat. "Oooh, great picture!"

Artemis studied it and nodded.

"I don't look bad at all, for once," he noted proudly. "It was nice of them to mention you, they could have hidden the fact that they asked for your help."

"Yep. And it's true, that new real cat look does wonders for you."

"Oh really, the picture is not important!" Rei sighed, annoyed.

"I thought that the Senshi had to disappear," Luna said, looking at Artemis.

"They disappeared," he told her.

"Why did you ask Minako to become Sailor V once again, then?"

"I didn't ask anything of her. I am not the boss of her, but her guardian. I am an advisor, I don't give orders. Minako do what she wants to do, nothing more, as V or as Venus."

"Artemis and I agreed that this return of Sailor V was a good thing. A one-time thing, Mars, breathe."

"I didn't say anything."

"You don't need to. Not that Artemis and I have to justify ourselves to anyone, of course."

"Of course," Rei answered bitterly.

"But if you must know, a friend from Interpol needed V's help to try and find and arrest an international murderer. We agreed and obviously we succeeded."

"But you don't have your powers anymore, how did you do that?" Usagi asked avidly.

"Being V wasn't all about powers or theatrics," Minako asked simply. "I really don't know where they found that picture though. We didn't even go arrest him ourselves."

"You do know that it was reckless, right?"

"I assure you that we know how to take care of ourselves, Mars. I wouldn't have accepted to help them if I hadn't been sure that I could. Being V is highly different from being Venus. I do sometimes risk my life, but never the lives of the agents and civilians that are always linked to these missions. This is not about monsters that disappear once you beat them. This is about human monsters that hurt and kill other humans if you make a wrong move, and that can die leaving a corpse behind if you happen to miscalculate the strength behind your attack. You can disagree with me on my decisions concerning the princess' safety if you find them inappropriate, you're even supposed to being my second, but not on things that don't concern you."

"I understand your point of view," Rei answered, with a voice as hard as Minako's but surprisingly without the anger they had all been waiting for, "but you won't convince me that your safety doesn't concern us."

That definitely wasn't what Minako had thought she would say, and she found herself unable to speak.

_I knew I shouldn't have come_, she thought, feeling increasingly awkward.

"I'm hungry!"

"No kidding," Makoto said, rolling her eyes.

"You just ate at least twenty cookies!" Rei reminded Usagi, eyes wide, Sailor V forgotten for now.

"That was at least like, half an hour ago!"

"Here we go again," Ami sighed with a little smile, and Luna nodded beside her.

Confused, Minako looked at them and then gazed at the three still arguing girls. Makoto was laughing at Usagi who was pouting, and then she blew a raspberry at Rei who just rolled her eyes and began to say something that angered both the girls and…

They were acting like five-year-olds. Or something like that, Minako wasn't sure at what age children were supposed to act like that. It was disconcerting to see the three girls she remembered as three proud and dignified princesses playing around like little kids.

It was kind of funny though. At least, she thought so, even if she really felt out of place at the moment.

"Fine, _fine_, I'm going to the kitchen, I'll bring things back," Rei finally agreed, standing up. She turned toward Ami and Minako. "Do not let them touch my things."

She left the room and Ami shook her head.

"Welcome to the team, I guess," the girl said quietly and quite shyly to Minako. "Luna and I are always designated as keepers."

"Keeper?"

"And I thought Mars knew you well," Artemis snickered. "If only she knew…"

Minako couldn't help but smile at that one.

"It could be fun."

"Usagi!" Ami called out. "Be careful with that, it's fragile!"

"Sorry!" the girl answered with a sheepish smile, sitting back on the tatami.

But Minako was more interested in the framed picture on the low table next to her. She studied it curiously, noting the cute smile of the little Rei, the beautiful and apparently warm woman that had been her mother, and the serious looking man who still looked quite proud standing next to them.

"Are you going to look at that picture all evening or are you going to eat cake with us?" Rei asked, and Minako noticed that everyone was already sitting down in the center of the room on a blanket, eating cake and the various sweets she had brought.

"You were cute," she said, knowing that Rei wouldn't like it.

And indeed, the girl scowled.

"I was four, of course I was cute."

"And all smiley, too bad you grew up."

Makoto snickered next to Rei who glared at her.

"Don't encourage her!"

"What? She does have a point." The girl looked at the photo and her smile softened. "Besides, you have your mom's smile."

"That's true!" Usagi said, her mouth fool of chocolate cake.

"Yeah, well," Rei answered, uncomfortable but pleased.

"But I'm sorry to say that you have your father's pride," Makoto noted with a teasing grin in her eyes softening her words.

Rei rolled her eyes.

"Careful, you."

"Your father and you aren't close?" Minako asked before she could stop herself.

She knew Rei's family situation of course, but not its evolution.

"It's… huh, complicated."

"Yeah, I had to kidnap her once. Long story," Makoto shrugged as Rei grinned at her.

"But it's better now, right, Rei?"

"Yes, it is. But we disagree on a lot of things."

"Really?"

"What? You seem surprised, Venus."

"It's just…"

"What?"

"Well, when I met him, it seemed to me that you had a few things in common, that's all."

"You met my father?"

"Hmm, last year, we were invited to the same reception. He supports the same foundation in favor of sick children as we do. You didn't know?"

"We… huh, we never discussed this things."

"Well, he's been supporting that foundation for years. Apparently that type of support is what helped built his career, that's how he came to be this important publicly speaking. He seems to really take it at heart, too. That's mainly why I think you two are quite alike. You're both proud and grumpy, but you both spend your time helping others."

Rei looked… kind of shocked.

Minako immediately regretted her words. She knew quite well how family matters could be.

"He talks about you, too," Artemis added softly, to Minako's dismay.

"He what?"

"He talks about you. Well, he did to Minako, at least. Right?"

Minako had to nod.

"Yes. Said you were my age, and that you attended the TA Academy and had very good grades and that you did wonders in the Archery Club. He said you were a miko and loved it, too. He even looked a little awkward when he told me he wasn't sure if you were interested in music or not, though, because he didn't see you a lot. He looked, well, he looked quite proud." Minako grinned. "I was really tempted to ask if he knew if you had a boyfriend, but that would have been pushing him too far, and he is a senator, so…"

Even Rei had to smile at that one.

"Somehow I doubt that he being a senator would stop you," she said.

Minako grinned at her.

"You have a point. Next time, then."

"Oh, oh, oh! I have an idea!"

"Oi, Usagi, no need to scream like that," Makoto complained, grimacing as she rubbed her left ear.

"Sorry. We should do an album with copies of pictures of us as children!"

"What?" Ami asked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you know, us when we were babies, us when we were one year old, when we were two, until we're fifteen!"

"It could be fun," Makoto agreed.

Minako's inner alarms sounded.

"I don't see why," Rei said, frowning.

_Thank god._

"We could compare our pictures, and see if we have changed at all!"

Of course they did. Duh. They weren't little kids anymore.

And for Venus' sake, Rei was agreeing to that madness! Minako decided right there that she didn't need a second in command anymore, and certainly not one that was as crazy as them all.

They were making plans. Making plans! Was that what girls her age did? Futile and stupid things?

No way in hell Minako was going to participate in that.

Especially since, well, since she had no picture of herself under the age of ten. And that the pictures she did have of herself at age ten and age eleven had all been taken at school. And then Sugao had entered her life and taken a few pictures of them during birthdays and such, and one day he had become her guardian and she had become an idol with way too many pictures of herself appearing everywhere. The ones the educators had taken during her time in the children's home had all been destroyed. She really didn't want to remember these horrible two and a half years.

And she was in no way ready to have to explain to her Senshi and her princess exactly why she materially couldn't participate in their stupid project.

So she kept silent until they calmed down and changed the subject. If any of them noted the sudden shift in her mood, they didn't say. Anyway Minako was quite sure they didn't know her enough to notice it.

In spite of that, she sincerely enjoyed herself for the rest of the night. They watched two movies and took great pleasure in scaring Usagi (and Artemis) to death during the one on zombies. They talked about a lot of things, and Minako answered a lot of questions the girls had on the true life of a teen idol and on her projects. She expertly avoided every interrogation on her past and personal life, and they didn't push, as she herself didn't push when her curiosity took the best of her and she asked them questions they clearly didn't want to answer.

It was awkward at times, but Minako really did love them all, even if their innocence and lack of memories made her feel old and slightly… well, different from them.

Later, even if she really was tired, she followed Artemis and Luna outside. It was past one in the morning and Makoto and Usagi were both asleep. Ami and Rei were quietly talking about their projects for the week, both of them already in their futons.

O

"What do you think they're talking about?" Ami softly asked Rei as she looked at Minako, Artemis and Luna chatting outside, under the stars.

Rei watched them quietly for a few seconds, before replying, their eyes still on them.

"The past."

"You mean the past life?"

"Luna and Artemis never had the chance to talk before now. I think she remembers a lot more now than before. It's natural that she wants to talk about it to Artemis and Venus, I suppose. They could be talking about their home planet or the friends and family they lost."

"I thought you hated the past life."

"It's not a past life to Artemis and Luna. I'm sad for them. They lost everything. I hate it when _she_ uses it to distance herself from us or when she forgets that her life is there and now."

"Do you ever wonder how it was? What she does remember, about us, about everything?"

Rei kept silent for a while. But Ami was easy to talk with.

"Sometimes," she confessed. "But then, I remember the pain that darkens her eyes every time she talks about it, I remember her foolish actions and her anger, and I really don't want to have anything to do with it."

"It is strange though, that she's the only one remembering it. Even Luna can't explain it, she clearly said we weren't supposed to remember everything. The only other one who remembers some things is Mamoru, but that could be explained by the accident."

Minako was clearly teasing her guardian about something. She had that little smile on her face that Rei knew well now, Artemis was looking mortified, and Luna was laughing.

She wondered if they still were talking about the past life, or if they simply were chatting about other things now. She felt a little jealous, because Minako had stayed really mysterious about everything and, even if she had talked more as the time passed, even if she had laughed with them, Rei had felt as if she still had trouble trusting them and feeling at ease with them.

It would take time, she knew, for them all to forget what had happened, for the distance to dissolve.

She hoped that one day everything would be fine for them all. That the sadness in Luna and Artemis would fade as they found their place with them on Earth. That the pain and fear in Minako would disappear and that she would be fine.

Tomorrow, Rei would call her father and ask him if he wanted to go to dinner with her sometime this week. She wanted to see if they really had something in common or if Venus had drunk too much during this reception of hers.

Finally, she closed her eyes, lulled to sleep by the quiet voices of Minako and the cats.

O

_It's not going to be long, only a few chapters. _

_It's in the 'Origins' universe and situated a week after 'The door to a new life'. _

_The idea behind it? _

_What would be the girls' reactions if they learnt that their families somehow crossed path in the past? _

_In 'Origins', Risa meets Ami's dad, Saeko meets Mamoru and his parents, Makoto and her family know quite well Minako's father, Kanade (Minako's mother's cousin's daughter) and Rei know each other,…_


End file.
